


bring peace on wings

by barelycoherent, dontcallmeking



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Eventual Romance, Fix-It of Sorts, Multi, Polyamory, claude befriends everyone and everyone's a little in love with him, claude convinces edelgard and dimitri to join the golden deer (kinda), eventual pining, rating subect to change, the fifth route i always wanted, there's going to be a LOT of pairings and this will probably be a pretty long fic, tropes! tropes! tropes!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22582072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barelycoherent/pseuds/barelycoherent, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontcallmeking/pseuds/dontcallmeking
Summary: claude stops a war, hubert learns to fly, and they both make a friend. (not necessarily in that order)
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Hevring/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Claude von Riegan & Hubert von Vestra, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra, Hilda Valentine Goneril & Claude von Riegan, relationships -tba
Comments: 24
Kudos: 71





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic completely driven by my id. I at first wanted to explore Hubert becoming a dark flier because come on. You can't tell me that the boy's always wanted to ride a pegasus and then GENDER-LOCK THE NEW DLC CLASS. This was followed by another thought which was how he and Claude would be a cursed duo, but would ultimately get along. And then this was born. 
> 
> I haven't decided on all the pairings yet, just hildacasphardt (my ot3 for this game), but I'm thinking edelthea and dimilix. For Claude? Who knows! Maybe sylvain. Maybe Ferdinand? Maybe Hubert? We'll see where it goes. 
> 
> This is semi-serious take on a possible fifth route, revelations-style, where everyone works together to defeat TWSITD and reduce the influence of Crests and the Church, but like, without killing off the last of Fodlan's manakete population and subjecting all the Fodlandy people to war for like 6 years. 
> 
> This chapter isn't beta'd because i like to torture myself.

Usually, Claude loved sky watch. Growing up in Almyra, every child is raised looking up –admiring the wyvern lords who patrolled among the clouds and invaded Fódlan’s Locket. Claude was no different. As soon as he’d held a bow in his hands, he’d dreamed of soaring through the sky on one a barbarossa’s white wyvern, tasting the sweet flavor of the clouds (he had always thought they would taste like booza, the sweet gummy dessert common in the bazaars of Almyra’s capital city). As a student in Garreg Mach, he has the chance to take to the skies and patrol the monastery’s borders. It may not be what he’d imagined as a child, but it generally is a task that he looks forward to weekly.

This week though, he rereads the bulletin board posting over again. _This can’t be right._ He’s assigned to sky watch, but instead of partnering with Hilda or Ingrid or (as is sometimes the case) Edelgard, he’s paired with Hubert. There’s an addendum next to it from the Professor – _see me before your evening shift._

“What’s that face for?” Hilda asks from beside him before following his gaze to the paper outlined with aviary duties. She barks out a laugh. “Hubert? _Hubert?_ Good luck, Claude.”

“Isn’t he… afraid of heights?” Claude wonders aloud. He could’ve _sworn_ he’d heard Ferdinand prattling on about it during an argument in the library. “Why would he be assigned to the aviary? To sky watch?” Not only would Hubert not make a good wyvern rider –Fódlan’s sky units aren’t allowed to use magic. Which is Hubert’s specialty.

_Is he even good at using axes?_

Hilda groans next to him. “Gross. Weeding duty. With _Ferdinand_.”

“I’d take Ferdinand over Hubert any day,” Claude responds. “At least Ferdinand can talk about things other than—” Claude lowers his voice and tries to imitate Hubert’s rasp, “— _Lady Edelgard_.”

Hilda snickers. “I think I’ll try to convince Lorenz to take weeding duty for him this week. He did a great job with stable duty last time.”

“Why don’t you try and convince Caspar? He could actually do with some heavy armor training,” Claude says. Caspar is assigned to the aviary as well, though not for sky watch. He has to muck out the wyvern grounds which is something Claude does _not_ envy. Though, looking forward to a week of sky watch with Hubert has him reevaluating that stance.

“Hm. Maybe,” Hilda says. “I’ll have to catch him in a vulnerable moment. When he’s not with Linhardt.” With a hum, she claps Claude on the shoulder. “I wish you luck. I can’t wait to hear how your first shift with Edelgard’s shadow goes.”

The cathedral bells chime as Hilda scampers off. Claude takes one more deep breath, looking over the list again. _Hubert_ . Great. Claude rolls the tenseness out of his shoulders and starts to walk to the Professor’s room. Hubert’s and his shift should be starting soon. He passes the training grounds and sees Felix arguing with Dimitri in front of the doors. Normally he’d want to eavesdrop, bring back juicy gossip to Hilda about their hatred ( _and possible budding romance_ , Hilda had giggled as she cut Claude’s hair the other night).

“—not the point, Boar—”

“Please, I just want to talk. Normally, like we used to.”

“Fuck off.” This was accompanied with the great slam of the training ground doors. Claude sees Dimitri close his eyes for a few seconds, his hands fisted and straining against the fabric of his gloves. He whistles and catches Dimitri’s attention. Dimitri looks over at him and fixes his expression from one of gloom to his normal princely smile.

“Ah! Claude,” he calls out. “Off to see the professor?”

Claude grins back. “You saw the assignments for this week, huh?”

“Indeed. I wish you well, my friend.”

“Thanks. Hey,” Claude says after a moment. “Join me for lunch at the dining hall tomorrow.”

A flicker of something warm washes through Dimitri’s eyes. “I would be glad to dine with you.”

Claude winks. “See you then, your princeliness.” He turns from Dimitri and starts to walk towards the Professor’s room again. If he wants to make peace between Fódlan and Almyra, open its borders –it’s important for him to have good relationships with Dimitri and Edelgard. Though, he’s not necessarily sure how to bridge the gap between himself and Edelgard. She’s a tough nut to crack.

He knocks on the Professor’s door and hears them call for him to enter. When he does, he sees Hubert already there, murder on written on his face. The professor is leaned back in their chair, blank-faced as usual.

“Hello, Claude,” Byleth greets him. He grins easily back at them.

“Afternoon, Teach! Ready to explain yourself?”

“Of course,” Byleth says. “Hubert needs to learn how to fly on a Pegasus.”

Hubert looks purple. A worrying color for a man so pale. Claude tilts his head to the side. “Why? Also –why pair him with me?”

“You’re our best flier,” Byleth responds. “And you will be a good teacher.”

“If you say so,” Claude doesn’t really believe it. While he does try to help the members of his house, he’s not sure he has the patience to teach someone like Hubert.

“Professor, putting me on a mount is ridiculous –I am a mage.”

“Yes, and one day, you will be a mage on a Pegasus,” Byleth responds. “This week, Claude, I want you to teach Hubert how to fly and get him off the ground.”

“I don’t know if I can help him with… Pegasus riding.”

“The basics are the same.” 

_Are they?_ Claude wonders. He’s sure that he’s never seen Byleth step foot in the aviary. There’s a hard set to the professor’s jaw which Claude takes as _I’ve made my decision_. Claude sighs. He turns to Hubert and makes a vague gesture with his hand.

“Come on, we can’t keep the aviary waiting for long.”

Hubert looks at him like he’s vile and doesn’t respond, heading out of the door. _Sheesh_ , Claude thinks. He gives one more pleading look to Byleth, but they merely shake their head. He sighs and heads out after his partner for the week.

* * *

“Look, Marianne. I just need you to distract Linhardt while I talk to Caspar,” Hilda tells her classmate. Her arm is tucked around the curve of Marianne’s waist. The taller girl wrings her hands together. 

“I’m not sure…” she says anxiously. “I don’t know if I… can.”

“It’ll be easy. Just sit next to him and ask him about the book he’s reading,” Hilda points to where Linhardt is leaning on the table. He yawns and flips a page, blinking slowly. Caspar is sitting across from him, making a lot of noise as he talks and eats. Linhardt looks up at him to say something that has Caspar turning pink on the edges of his cheeks. He abruptly closes his mouth and chews dramatically. 

“Hilda…” Marianne sounds like she’s being tortured. Hilda gives her a squeeze. 

“Come on, you can do it!” 

“I-... if you insist.” 

The two girls walk over to them. Hilda plops down in the chair next to Caspar while Marianne sits next to Linhardt. Linhardt looks over at the two of them and goes back to reading. Hilda wiggles her eyebrows at Marianne to encourage her. If anything, it makes Marianne look more discouraged. Hilda frowns. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked her to do this, she’d just thought it’d be good for Marianne to be out of her comfort zone a little. 

“Hey, Hilda, what are you doing over here?” Caspar asks. There’s pits of sauce around his mouth and Hilda has to fight the urge to cringe and wipe it off for him.

“You two looked like you were having so much fun over here, we thought we’d join!” she says with her best smile. “Besides, I thought it’d be good to get to know you better.” 

“Wow, really? Thanks. Though, normally dinner for us is just Linhardt nagging me to have better manners. I can’t say it’d be super fun for y’all.” 

Hilda laughs lightly. “Well, why don’t you let us be the judge of that.” 

Caspar shrugs and pushes a skewer of rabbit into his mouth, his cheeks bulging. “Alright.”

“Lin...hardt,” Marianne starts. “What are you reading?”

“An advanced text on crestology,” he says. “Hanneman gave it to me to look over.”

“You like… crests?” she asks, wincing. Hilda winces with her. Marianne may not say too much about herself, but Hilda’s watched her face and heard her talk on the disparaging nature of crests enough to realize that she definitely _doesn’t_ want to know more about them. 

“I think they’re fascinating,” Linhardt says, finally looking up from his text. “How are they inherited? What are the differences between major and minor crests? Why do we have them?” 

“The goddess…” Marianne starts. 

Linhardt waves a hand. “Sure, according to church doctrine. But there must be something concrete to them as well, we shouldn’t base our knowledge of the world simply on faith. Maybe the goddess did grant them to us. But why the 10 Elites?” 

“There he goes again,” Caspar says rolling his eyes with an expression of fondness.

“So, how are you enjoying the Academy, Caspar?” Hilda says, getting his attention again. 

“Oh, it’s great. I love the training grounds,” he makes a fist. “I’m honing my fists of justice!”

“If you spend so much time there, you must be _really_ strong.”

“Oh,” Caspar flushes. “I am. Well, I hope I am. I mean, I’m trying to be super strong.”

“I don’t doubt you are. I wish I could be as strong as you,” she says. “But I’m so weak. I can barely lift a box of books during library duty. It’s so hard for me, I’m sore for an entire _week_ afterwards.”

“That sounds awful, Hilda!” Caspar says. “But I always thought you were strong. I mean, I saw you go against Edelgard in the axe tournament a few weeks ago. You almost had her, too.” 

_Fuck_ , Hilda thinks. 

“That was just luck, I’m sure. I was really scared. She was probably going easy on me,” Hilda sighs. “Trust me when I say that I’m not good for fighting. I’m too delicate.”

Caspar doesn’t look convinced. “Well, if you come to the training grounds with me sometime, I can help you get stronger.”

“I wouldn’t want to hold you back,” Hilda says. As the conversation goes on, it’s harder to keep her normal smile on her face. Curse Claude for sending her after this boy. He’s either too stupid to offer to help her on his own, or unbelievably perceptive to what she’s trying to do. “Anyway, can you believe the professor put me on weeding duty?” 

“That’s a great way to strengthen yourself!” Caspar says. “Who with? Raph?”

“Ferdinand,” Hilda tells him. Before she can continue, he snickers.

“Wow, good luck with that. Ferdinand’s an okay guy and all, but he’s _so_ annoying. It’s always _noble_ this and _legitimate son of von Aegir_ that. I don’t envy you.”

“But you’re on… wyvern grounds duty,” Hilda says, tilting her head to the side. Caspar blanches. 

“What, seriously?” 

“You haven’t checked the postings yet?” 

“I never check them. Normally, Edelgard comes and yells at me about it before I can even remember where it’s at.” 

_Oh Goddess_ , Hilda thinks to herself. _He’s an idiot. I would’ve been better off getting Lorenz to do it._

* * *

Claude holds the reins of the old pegasus mare Hubert’s been assigned while the aforementioned sits atop of it, glowering at everything his eyes can reach. Claude tugs on the reins and starts leading the pegasus forward. Hubert starts and grabs onto its mane, yanking its head back. The pegasus stumbles and flaps its wings. Hubert crouches forward over its neck, paler than usual and sweating. Claude snickers.

“It’s not gonna take off just like that,” he says. Hubert frowns severely at him. “Just sit up on her comfortably. It’ll be fine.”

“Easy words from someone with no thought to spare to the comfort of others.”

Claude takes that to mean _fuck you for not being scared of heights, like me_. 

He sighs. “Teach wants me to teach you to fly for whatever reason, so that’s what I’m going to do. We’re just going to walk a few laps around the ring so you can get used to how she feels when she moves.” 

Hubert scoffs but keeps a firm hold onto the pegasus’ mane and allows Claude to lead him around. After a few laps, Hubert starts to relax and sit up straighter on her. 

“Feeling comfortable?” Claude asks. “Take the reins and walk her around yourself.” He hands them to Hubert and steps away. “I’m going to get my wyvern.”

The pegasus starts to walk faster, almost yanks the reins from his hands. Hubert fumbles them, lets out a quick. “ _Claude!”_ before he gets control of the pegasus back. He clears his throat. “Do as you must.”

Claude waves a hand dismissively at him and leaves the training ring, heading towards the wyvern aviary. He gets there quickly and signs his name down next to his favorite, Reyna. He walks quickly to her stall and whistles for her to come down to him. She lands in front of him and he holds out a hand. She nuzzles into it. The smile comes unbidden to his face. He leads her from the stall and to the tack area, quickly saddling her up. He walks her out of the aviary and swings himself onto her back. With a gentle press of his knees, she takes off into the air and soars over to the paddock Hubert is still riding the pegasus around in. 

Claude lands nearby. 

“Ready to take her for a fly?” he asks. “We’ll fly low to start.” 

Hubert pales, his thin lips pressed together so hard it looks as if nothing’s there. His nostrils flare as he breathes in and out. “If we must.” 

“We are on sky watch,” Claude says, raising his eyebrows. “If you want her to start flying, give her a little nudge to the shoulders. She should know what to do.”

Hubert nods at him and barely touches his heels to her shoulders before she flaps her wings and picks up off the ground. Claude nudges his wyvern and ascends after him. “Pull back on her head!” he calls when Hubert’s pegasus continues to ascend. Hubert seems to try but the pegasus yanks back against them. Hubert struggles to turn her around. 

“Claude!” he calls, then curses. Claude leans forward on Reyna and urges her to fly after them faster. He quickly overtakes the pegasus and swings Reyna around to face her. The pegasus glides to the side, slowing down, but on the turn, Hubert becomes unseated and his left foot slips out of the stirrup. 

“Fuck!” he yelps. 

Claude maneuvers Reyna around, she turns to the side and Claude stands up in his seat, reaches out and manages to get a grip on the mare’s bridle before he gets a hold on one of her loose reins. 

He grabs it and swings off of Reyna to land on the pegasus’ back behind Hubert. He wraps his arms around the mage and holds both of the reins. He angles the pegasus’ head down and flies her quickly down to the ground. Reyna lands behind them and ambles forwards. Claude slides off of the pegasus. Hubert’s hair is windswept and his face is pale. He looks faint. He pants quickly. 

“Okay, so. We won’t use this pegasus again,” Claude says, trying to cut through the tense atmosphere. He puts out his hand for Hubert to take. “Need help down?” 

Hubert grasps his hand tightly and nearly falls off of the pegasus. Claude catches him and holds him up. His legs shake weakly beneath him. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Claude says. “We landed, it’s okay.”

“That was _far_ from okay,” Hubert grits out. He releases Claude’s hand and pushes himself off of him. His legs are still shaky, but he can stand on his own. “I’m never doing this again.”

“It’ll be better next time, you got a feel for what flying’s like, right?” Claude tries to reassure him. “Everyone’s first flight is scary. It can only get better from here.”

Hubert doesn’t seem to hear him, starting to stalk off towards the monastery’s gate. “The fact that the _Professor_ allows Lady Edelgard to ride one of these beasts is inexcusable.” Claude grabs the pegasus’ reins and starts after him, yanking her head up from where she’d been munching on grass. 

“Technically,” Claude says, halting Hubert’s tirade. “Edelgard rides a wyvern. Not a pegasus.” 

“Good riddance,” Hubert spits out. “I’m never stepping a foot near one of those beasts again.” 

“I mean, we can always try wyverns next. I know that the professor wants you on a pegasus --” Claude pauses. “Why do they want you on a pegasus so badly?”

Hubert’s face darkens. “I have an idea.”

“Maybe they don’t realize you’re scared of heights.”

“They know,” Hubert says angrily before he pauses and spins to Claude. He steps into Claude’s space, making him take a step back. “How do _you_ know that?”

Claude raises his hands up. “Don’t be like that. I overheard it when you and Ferdinand were fighting once. I’m sure it’s not commonly known information.” It is kind of commonly known though, Claude realizes, considering he’d gossiped about it with Hilda, Mercedes, and Annette during one of their makeup nights. It’s at least known by a few Golden Deer and Blue Lions. 

“That… that--” Hubert huffs and puffs, seething. “He can’t keep his filthy mouth closed for two secrets. Does he not know tact or subtlety?” Hubert starts to mutter to himself in another tirade. Claude sighs and follows behind him. Reyna flies over them. They make their way back to the pegasus stables and Claude sees Marianne and Flayn next to the doors. 

_Thank god_ , he thinks, glad to see Marianne’s beautiful, gloomy face. She turns to them and pales when she sees whatever expression Hubert is wearing. 

“Hey, Marianne,” Claude says. “Do you mind taking care of this pegasus for me?” He gestures with his head to where Hubert is continuing to stalk off. “I kinda need to--.” 

“Of course, Claude,” Marianne says, taking the reins from him. He loves seeing her in her element around the animals. “I’m surprised the stablemaster had him ride Sunshine. She’s not well-behaved, especially once she's in the air.”

“You can say that again,” Claude says before he turns to follow after Hubert. Reyna the wyvern continues to trek after him. _I’m sorry girl,_ he thinks at her. He scratches her neck and she makes a trilling noise. He calls after Hubert. “Hey, wait a minute!” 

“I refuse to satiate the professor’s _sadistic_ desires,” Hubert huffs. “I will not get back on a pegasus. That’s _final_.”

“There’s a lot to unpack there,” Claude starts, rubs the back of his neck. “But we still have to do our job for the week. How about you ride with me on Reyna?” He pats his wyvern’s neck. “That way you can get… used to the feeling of flying in a safe way.” 

Hubert turns to Claude for the first time since he’d begun to storm away and crosses his arms stiffly in front of his chest. “Why would I trust a vile man, such as yourself?”

“Vile?” Claude asks, his eyebrows raised. “I knew you didn’t like me much, but vile’s taking it a bit far.”

“You are nothing more than a cowardly schemer. I would never put my life in your hands,” Hubert glares down at him. Claude frowns. 

“A glowing report. Look, Hubert. I don’t like you and you don’t like me,” he starts. “But we have to work together for now. _I’m_ not a cold-blooded murderer. And maybe if you have a good experience with me and Reyna, you’ll be brave enough to try flying on your own.”

Claude meets Hubert’s eyes and stares at him defiantly. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what Hubert thinks of him. He won’t be able to use him to further his goals and he’s so whipped by Edelgard that there’s no point in befriending him (he’ll cede to whatever Edelgard thinks). But what he does care about is the opinion of the Professor. Byleth is strange and enigmatic, but they’re strong. He wants them on his side. He has to prove his worth and if that means he has to get through to Hubert, then he’s going to do just that.

“Fine. I will join you on the back of your beast,” Hubert averts his eyes. The _but I’m not going to be happy about it_ goes unsaid. 

* * *

Hilda lays sprawled out on her bed, finishing up the beadwork on a necklace she had been making when Claude bursts into her room. Hilda glances up at him.

“What now?”

“Look at this!” Claude exclaims, kicking her door shut. He lifts up the hem of his shirt to show off finger-shaped bruises on his sides. Hilda raises her eyebrows.

“Hubert’s fiesty, huh? Thought you were into that kind of thing.”

Claude makes a face. “For a mage with no physical strength, he’s got a killer grip.” He observes his bruises before he lets his shirt fall back down over his stomach. “Sky watch was hell.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Hilda responds, squinting as she threads the last bead onto the necklace. She ties a tiny knot to finish off the necklace. She holds it up to her chest. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s beautiful, as all of the things you make are,” Claude tells her easily.

“Flatterer,” Hilda sticks out her tongue. “So, give me all the dirty details of sky watch with _Hubie_.”

“There’s nothing really. He fell off a pegasus, got bitchy, and then rode around with me on Reyna. I don’t think I can handle a whole week of this. He called me _vile_.”

Hilda snorts. “He’s one to talk about being vile. I saw the Professor hand him a stinky handkerchief the other day. Have you seen his hair? It’s so greasy. _That’s_ vile.”

“He spends so much time following after Edelgard, he can’t spare the time to bathe,” Claude comments. It’s a bit mean-spirited, but he does feel some ill will towards Hubert. Hilda snickers. 

“I’ll say. Do you think he bathes her? He does everything else for his _precious Lady Edelgard_ ,” she breaks off Edelgard’s name with a loud laugh, interrupting her attempt to mimic Hubert’s voice. 

Claude shakes his head and plops down on the ground. “That is not something I _ever_ want to think about.”

“I ended up having to pull weeds with Ferdinand,” Hilda switches the subject. “It was fine, though. He offered to do most of it when I told him that I was allergic to some of the grasses.”

Claude smirks at her from where he’s seated. “What a gentleman.”

“Oh yeah,” Hilda rolls her eyes. “The noblest of nobles. To be fair though, the more time I spend with Ferdinand, the more he grows on me. Like mold.”

In a lot of ways, Ferdinand is like a better Lorenz. Less annoying, but still up his own ass enough to do what Hilda wants him to without realizing due to his own ideologies. Where Lorenz does what she asks out of a sense of chivalry, Ferdinand does it from a place seemingly closer to kindness. 

“Like I said, I’d much rather be stuck with him for three hours every day for a week than Hubert,” Claude responds. 

“I was thinking,” Hilda starts. “You’re close with the Professor. Why don’t you ask them to recruit Ferdinand to our house?” 

Claude stares at her for a second. “Because you don’t want to learn about armor anymore and Ferdinand’s a specialist in it?”

“ _E_ _xactly_ ,” Hilda says. “Do you know how shocked I was when the Professor decided that _I_ needed to learn about armor instead of Raphael? _Me_?”

“To be fair, Raph is best at brawling so Teach wants him to become a War Master.”

Hilda sighs, standing up from her bed to put the necklace she’d finished making in her drawer of jewelry. “And War Masters barely wear any clothing, let alone armor.” 

Claude nods. “And with all the armor you have to wear as a wyvern rider _and_ the fact that you predominantly use axes, not gauntlets…”

“I know, it makes sense,” Hilda groans. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Doesn’t mean I have to _do_ it. I’m not planning on going to war anytime soon.”

Claude gives her a smile. “Hopefully, no one else is either." 


	2. White Clouds. Mutiny in the Mist 3/3/1180

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome my best friend and roommate Madzia on board! She read over the last chapter and we decided to work on this as a co-written fic. Two heads are better than one! Especially when you’re juggling the creation of a whole new route. Please go and follow her! She’s going to be coming out with some absolutely amazing 3h fics in the future!

“Ferdinand would be a good addition to the house,” Claude starts, an entire rationalization prepared as he walks towards the dining hall with the Professor. Before he can launch into his meticulously planned speech, they cut him off.

“Okay,” Byleth replies. “I’ll ask him to join. Do you know what he likes?”

Claude shrugs. “Heavy armor? I can scope out the scene, if you want.”

“Do that and let me know. There’s no point in recruiting him if he doesn’t want to learn from me,” Byleth turns away from him as they enter and walks off to stand in the line for food. Claude puts his hands on his hips and looks around. Ferdinand is already seated at one of the tables to the corner, eating bircher muesli, a popular food in Aegir territory. Claude heads over to him and takes a seat, pasting on his most charming smile. Ferdinand startles and looks up at him.

“Oh, Claude. What brings you over here?” 

“I thought we could have a quick chat since we don’t know each other very well.” 

“Oh, well then,” Ferdinand flashes a perfect smile, and Claude takes a moment to admire how genuine it seems. “I always enjoy getting to know my fellow students. I think we can all learn a lot from one another.”

“We’re of the same mind, then,” Claude says with a grin. He wants to gain knowledge of the internal workings of the Adrestian Empire, as well as any strategies Edelgard enjoys imploying, which is probably different information than what Ferdinand is expecting. Claude plans on winning the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, after all.

“I’m curious to know, though, why you’re interested in talking to me so suddenly. We’ve been in joint classes before now.”

“Well, to tell the truth,” Claude says with an easy shrug, “Hilda was very impressed with you after you worked together yesterday. I thought I had to come by and get to know you after that. She’s a hard lady to impress, and I value her opinion.” 

Ferdinand flushes a deep pink and beams.  _ So, praise is definitely a way to get to him _ . “I’m glad to hear it! I strive to be the best I can every day of my life, and Hilda was a delight to work with.”  _ He’s either a polite liar, or gullible.  _

“Oh, for sure,” Claude tells him, inwardly rolling his eyes at the idea of enjoying doing weed duty with Hilda. “I saw you in the lance tournament last month --you were amazing. You went toe to toe with Dimitri, right until the very end.” 

Ferdinand flushes a bit darker. “Thank you. I was very happy with the results. I would like to get a certification to be a Great Knight eventually, so my lance work is very important.” 

“As is armor,” Claude says. “We don’t have anyone in my house on that track.”

“Really? Not even, oh what’s her name? Leona?” 

“Leonie,” Claude corrects. He shakes his head. “While her lance work is excellent, she’d much rather be a Bow Knight, and the professor agrees with her.”

“I see. And Raphael? He’s worked on clearing duty with me before.”

“War Master,” Claude says. “The only one of our house who might use heavy armor later on is Hilda --and she’s geared more to be a wyvern rider.”

“I see. So you do not have an armor specialist, then.”

“We don’t,” Claude says. “The professor and I were just talking about how they’d love to have a student to teach who’s actually interested in it. But alas, save strapping armor on Lysithea, it seems we’re out of luck with the current roster.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to coming to one of the professor’s seminars, if they’re amenable.” 

Just at that moment, Byleth appears beside Claude with two bowls of muesli in hand. “You’re welcome to join us, Ferdinand. I want your work ethic to rub off on some of my students. Here, Claude, breakfast. This is one of my favorite meals. Oh, and look, Ferdinand must also favor it.”

Claude accepts the muesli with a polite word, and inwardly admires how Byleth had memorised what Ferdinand likes to eat and brought it over to ingratiate the two of them to him further. It was impressive enough that Claude was willing to overlook the fact that he hates muesli. He’d much prefer something spicer for breakfast, like a hot skillet of eggs, peppers, and sauces, a common breakfast choice in Almyra. 

Claude starts to eat the muesli, the blueberries add a nice flavor to a generally bland breakfast. It’s not the worst thing he’s ever eaten. Ferdinand is almost done with his and sips on breakfast tea, nearly down to the dredges of a small teapot next to him. 

“I’m flattered, Professor, really,” he says with a flush as he thinks over Byleth’s words. “I’d love to join your seminar and get to know the rest of your class.”

“The seminar I’m doing on armor is this weekend,” Byleth says. “I’ll look forward to seeing you there.” 

* * *

Hilda trails along after Claude as he heads to the library during their free hour. She’s not sure what he’s been so invested in researching lately, but sitting in that stuffy room is much better than being found with nothing to do and thus given work. 

“I’m gonna sit over here,” she tells him, pointing to one of the open tables. He nods to her and bounces off to the shelves, avoiding eye contact with the monks and librarians. She sits down, and at the curious look shot towards her from one of the librarians, she grabs a book that’s next to her and pretends to read. She flips through the pages, mostly looking at the diagrams because she’s not interested in reading the words. She can tell it has something to do with Crests, though she’s not sure what. 

“Oh. Hilda,” comes a sleepy drawl. She looks up and meets eyes with Linhardt. “I didn’t realize you were interested in crestology.”

“Sorry, were you reading this?” she asks, not responding to his assumption. She doesn’t want to explain herself where the librarians could hear her. She’d gotten the  _ if you’re not going to read in here, you might as well make yourself useful and clean _ talk too many times to risk it again. He shrugs. 

“I’ve read it before. I was merely looking to clarify a thought I had. It’s a basic text,” he sits down across from her and puts down the books he had retrieved from the shelves. 

“Oh, okay,” she says. Linhardt opens up one of his books and starts to read it, so Hilda looks back at the text in front of her. Some of the diagrams would actually be very cute designs for earrings or necklaces, she realizes. She takes out her mostly unused notebook from her school bag and begins to trace some of the drawings. 

“What are you doing?” Linhardt asks as she begins to scratch out design ideas and possible materials for a few of the pictures. 

“Oh, I’m going to make these into jewelry.” 

He seems taken aback. “I’ve never thought of translating these diagrams into physical form. Let me see them when you’re done. A new perspective could show me a lot.”

“Whoa, Linhardt. This isn’t for science or anything,” Hilda looks up from her paper. “It’s just for fun.”

“I understand,” he says. “But  _ I  _ could use it for science. Here,” he turns his text to her and shows her a complicated design. “A lot of crestology texts have diagrams like this that are nearly impossible to understand. If you could figure out how to make it three dimensional, it could reveal some interesting information on the magical structure of Crests.”

“I’m only interested in making  _ cute _ things into jewelry,” Hilda says, skeptically looking at the diagram Linhardt is passionately showing her. She has to say that the sudden energetic look in his eyes when he speaks about Crests is kind of cute, if unexpected.

He tilts his head. “Can’t you find beauty in everything?” 

“Not everything is beautiful,” Hilda says flippantly. “Or cute.”

“Like what?”

She pauses, then succinctly says. “Worms.”

Linhardt chuckles. “That’s fair. Just think about it Hilda, I’m really interested in seeing what you can come up with.”

“If you say so,” she casts an appraising eye over him. “But not for free. I’ll make you something you want if you let me style your hair.”

He pushes his chin-length locks of hair out of his face, behind his ear. “Why would I let you do that?”

“Why not?” Hilda says. “All you have to do is sit there and let me play with it a bit.”

“I’m just curious about this deal. Why would you want to?”

“Why do you think I have the right skills to make the models you want?” Hilda shoots back. “Maybe I’m cheating you.”

Linhardt squints. “You don’t seem like the sort of person who would do something for fun if you’re bad at it.”

Hilda wants to frown at the assessment, as it felt both like praise and a subtle dig, but answers his question. “If I’m honest,” Hilda begins, “you have amazing bone-structure and very pretty features. It’s a bit sad it’s hidden by that ugly hairstyle.” 

“You don’t mince words,” he says. Hilda almost smirks when his cheeks flush a light pink. “Though you are the first person to say anything about me is pretty. Alright, I’ll let you do it.”

“Great. I’ll come find you when I feel like it,” she says. At that moment, Claude comes to the table, a stack of books in his arms. She raises an eyebrow up at him. “Free hour is almost over.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to take these back to my room.”

“And instantly lose them in the mess, got it,” she says. He kicks the leg of her chair lightly. “Let’s go. I need to be in class on time or I won’t hear the end of it from Lorenz.” He turns to Linhardt and winks. “Nice to see you, Linhardt.”

“You as well, Claude.” 

Hilda puts her notebook back in her bag and stands up from the table, picking up the basic crestology text. Claude gasps. 

“Hilda? You’re  _ studying _ ? Voluntarily?”

She aims a punch at his arm, but he jumps out of the way, almost dropping his books. 

“It just,” she shoots a wink to Linhardt, “caught my interest is all.” Claude gives her a curious look and she knows he’ll be asking her about it later. She nudges him. “Come on, let’s get those books back to your room.”

“Oh, you gonna help me carry them?”

“Hah!” she laughs. “In your dreams.”

“Your strong biceps are  _ always _ in my dreams. Picking me up, holding me, leaving bruises…” 

“Shut up,” she retorts, heading out of the library, Claude behind her. 

* * *

Manuela always lets out class early, so Dimitri has the time to wait outside of the Golden Deer classroom before Claude gets out. They had agreed to get lunch together today, though he’s slightly worried that waiting for him like this is strange. The only reference he has for such things is Dedue, and their relationship is… unique. 

“You’re fidgeting, Your Highness,” Dedue comments from beside him. Dimitri flushes and crosses his arms. 

“Ah, thank you, Dedue. I didn’t even notice. I guess I’m just nervous to have lunch with Claude. We’ve only talked a few times before.” 

_ And he definitely heard the things Felix was yelling at me about _ , he thinks pessimistically. It wasn’t lost on Dimitri that Claude had offered to get lunch as a way to make him feel better after being publicly reprimanded for existing. That kind of kindness was typical to Claude and was one of the reasons why Dimitri desired a friendship with him, despite the reputation he’s cultivated as an untrustworthy schemer. He knows there’s something deeper to his fellow lord, some other kind of motivation lurking just beneath the surface of his nonchalant exterior. 

The doors to the Golden Deer classroom open and he watches as a few of the students exit, Hilda, Claude’s closest comrade, among the first. She looks curiously at him and Dedue before her mouth parts in an o, presumably because she knows he’s going to be eating lunch with Claude. As he tells Dedue his secrets, he’s sure that Claude shares his with Hilda. She smiles at him and bounces off after a blue-haired girl, catching up with her quickly. 

He waits a few seconds before he looks inside the room. Claude is talking with Byleth about something, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. Byleth glances at him, causing Claude to look at him as well. Dimitri flushes. He didn’t mean to interrupt their conversation. Byleth tilts their head at him and Claude grins, saluting, before moving towards Dimitri at the door.

“Afternoon, your princliness,” he says with a grin, then looks behind Dimitri at Dedue. “Hello to you as well, Dedue.”

Dedue nods his head at Claude, but stays silent. They’ve only been in school for three months at this point and Dedue is still very nervous around the others, especially from people outside of their house. The three begin walking towards the dining hall. 

“I'm starving. I've been waiting for lunch since I noticed on the menu this morning that they’re serving stir-fried vegetables today,” Claude begins, casting another look up to Dedue. “You like that as well, don’t you?” 

“Yes. I enjoy the spices,” Dedue responds. “It is… more similar to the cuisine of Duscur.”

“I like it as well,” Claude tells him. “A lot of the food served here tastes pretty bland to me.”

“I am grateful for whatever is served,” Dedue says quietly. Claude makes an understanding noise under his breath. Dimitri takes a second to look over him. He had never thought about it before, but his complexion is similar to Dedue’s --and he’s heard enough chatter from students from the Alliance that Claude had appeared with the Crest of Riegan almost out of nowhere, somehow with claims of being a legitimate heir. 

_ Perhaps he has Duscurian heritage?  _ Dimitri wonders. It would explain why he and Dedue have such a similar taste in food and how touchy he is about his parentage, only talking of his mother, the daughter of the current Duke von Riegan. His father, however, is an unknown --unspoken of --entity. 

They wait in line at the dining hall for a few minutes before they order and then quickly receive their portions. One of the good things about not being able to taste is that other than unwelcome textures, Dimitri is able to eat almost anything. There are some foods with textures that sit better on his tongue than others, but he can’t gauge spice or flavor, so he can consume whatever is placed in front of him.

They sit down at a table and begin to eat. 

“How was sky watch?” Dimitri asks, wanting to start a conversation. Claude hums around a vegetable and swallows before he speaks. 

“It was awful,” he says and shakes his head. “I was just talking to Teach about it. Hubert shouldn’t have to fly if he doesn’t want to.”

“Ah, he didn’t like it?”

“Not at all,” Claude sighs. “Not that his mount made it any easier.” 

“What do you mean by that?” The stablemaster had control over both barns --those for horses and those for pegasi. She was a kind older woman who was a master of her craft. “They’re generally very capable of matching mount to soldier.”

Claude shakes his head. “Marianne told me that the pegasus they chose for Hubert was on a no-fly list because of its bad behavior. And that was  _ before _ it nearly threw Hubert off during a flight.”

Dimitri gapes. “That’s unacceptable. You should bring it up with someone.”

“I tried to talk to Teach, but they’re adamant about Hubert becoming a flier. They also said it could’ve been an honest mistake.”

Dimitri purses his lips as he thinks about that. He’s worked closely with many staff members of the cavalry barn, but he hasn’t spent time in the pegasus stables. However, he thinks that they should be run similarly, due to having the same stablemaster. There should be notes on the door of every mount’s stall regarding tack accommodations, riders, and if they should or should not be ridden. Surely, it would be very difficult for such a mistake to be made in the cavalry barn. 

“It might be beneficial to bring this up with the stablemaster --or even Seteth if it comes to it. Do you remember the employee who chose the horse for Hubert?” 

“By face only,” Claude responds. “But speaking about it with Seteth is a great idea. I’ll have to visit him during his office hours.”

“They are right after the end of classes until the beginning of our weekly duties,” Dedue tells him. 

“Thanks,” Claude says smiling at the vassal. “I’ll see if I can talk with him about it today.”

“You’re welcome,” Dedue says politely before he turns back to his food. Dimitri continues to speak.

“Ingrid is at the pegasus barn more often than not. Perhaps she could help as well.” 

“Ah, I may talk to her, then, as well. Marianne is there often, even though she’s not on the path of becoming a flier.”

“She seems the type to just enjoy being among the animals and within the peace of the barn.”

“How astute of you, Prince Dimitri,” Claude says, raising his eyebrows. “That’s exactly why she’s always there. Er, at least to my understanding.” 

“I understand that feeling, somewhat. I always feel at ease when I tack up a horse and go on a long ride. All of my worries seem to drift away,” Dimitri tells him.

Claude grins at him. “We have some similar interests then. I love going on long rides --though I’m probably much worse at horseback riding than you are. I spend most of my time these days with the wyverns.”

“I’m sure you’re better than you give yourself credit for,” Dimitri gives him a bright smile. “We should take a ride together some day.” 

“I’d enjoy that,” Claude responds. “We can share our favorite routes some time.”

“Please do,” Dimitri requests genuinely. It’s nice to know that he and Claude do have similarities, it will make befriending him that much easier. A darker part of Dimitri that he tries not to acknowledge revels in the idea that if Claude  _ is _ of Duscurian heritage, he may lend his strength to Dimitri’s quest for revenge. To help him reclaim Duscur and cut off the heads of those who contributed to the Tragedy.

They continue to chat about training and classes until lunchtime is over. Dimitri stands up, causing Dedue to do the same. “Thank you for inviting me to dine with you,” Dimitri says with a wide smile. “I had a very nice time.”

“It’s my pleasure, princey,” Claude gives him a grin. “I’d eat with you anytime.”

Dimitri flushes pink. “I will hold you to that. Till next time.”

Claude waves at him as he exits the dining hall and heads back towards his classroom. When Dimitri goes inside, he sees a few of the other students already seated --Annette and Mercedes towards the front, Ashe right behind them, and Felix nearer to the back. He sweats in a way that informs Dimitri that he had been training during lunchtime. He steels his nerves as he walks over towards Felix.

“Felix,” he starts. Felix barely spares him a glance which does nothing for him but make his nerves worse. Talking to Felix is akin to walking on a floor littered with traps. “Did you not eat anything for lunch?” 

“What I do with my time is none of your business, boar,” Felix snaps.  _ Of course he took his concern as a criticism. _ Dimitri holds in his sigh and tries not to look too disappointed. This is how it’s been between him and Felix for a while now. He misses the days when they were young and close. When they were truly friends and he could start conversation without picking through every sentence for possible offences.

“I see. Well, I hope you are taking care of your health.”

“As if you’d know about that,” Felix snarls, his lip curled up. Dimitri turns and goes to sit next to Dedue at the front of the classroom. 

“He should not talk to you like that, Your Highness,” Dedue says, anger present in the tension in his jaw. “He needs to learn to hold his tongue.”

“Peace, Dedue,” Dimitri says quietly. “Felix will speak as he sees fit. It doesn’t bother me.” 

Dedue gives him a disbelieving look, but he doesn’t push. Dimitri is thankful for his protection and care, but still wishes that Dedue would talk to him like a fellow student, as opposed to a prince. He wants to be genuine friends with Dedue, to be equals. He’s not sure how to get that point across in a way that doesn’t make Dedue feel as if he’s unhappy with the way Dedue treats him. 

He has great respect for the man --and he is truly one of the only things tethering Dimitri to reality, keeping him from sinking into the dark place he used to reside in. Haunted by ghosts of those he lost, all blaming him for surviving --for not helping them to live. 

Dimitri is dragged from his thoughts by the sound of Annette asking Manuela a question in a bright voice, and resolves to focus for the rest of class.

* * *

Edelgard is deep in thought as she crosses the hall to the library. She had thoroughly erased all connections between her and the bandits Byleth’s class had vanquished, and the Flame Emperor was still unknown to the church, so none of those concerns should be plaguing her. But the unease she felt about Those Who Slither’s plans for the Western Church’s rebellion is leaking into her thoughts on her other affairs and plans. The Rite of Rebirth is fast approaching, and she needs to banish the second thoughts and misgivings she has about the plan, even if all schemes made in accordance with that reprehensible group agitate her. 

_ I need to access the Holy Mausoleum, and Lonato’s forces were already at arms. I have not caused undue distress with this plot.  _ She opens the library doors a bit too forcefully in irritation at how much her inner monologue sounded like an attempt to console herself. 

_ If I falter or hesitate, I will fail. _

She is wrenched abruptly from her thoughts as someone calls out to her. 

“Oh, Edelgard. Come to study magic?” Lysithea is tucked at a table between tall shelves in the library, with an impressively tall stack of books in front of her. Edelgard processed that she had automatically walked towards the part of the library with the only valuable or revealing books on rituals and spells she could find. She berates herself for her distraction. 

“Hello, Lysithea. You seem as committed to your studies as ever. How have your classes been going?” 

As expected, Lysithea beams at the praise. “Excellent. My magic has been improving by leaps and bounds.”

“Due to your own determination and resourcefulness, I expect. I was under the impression that Professor Byleth is not particularly versed in magic, unlike our Professor Hanneman.” Edelgard is more than aware of the talent Lysithea has, and would be remiss in her responsibilities if she did not make a committed effort to recruit such a brilliant individual. She also empathises deeply with the girl, though she is loathe to reveal her similar history to anyone other than Hubert. “I believe you would progress even more rapidly in my class.”

Lysithea takes a moment to consider that, but shakes her head. “I am not so sure. Professor Hanneman seems to get caught up in his own studies, while Professor Byleth always puts effort into studying even the things they are weak with to help their students advance. I have yet to leave a class of theirs without learning something.” She smiles wryly. “Though I must admit I find their determination to have me learn swordplay vexing.”

Edelgard spends another moment mourning the Professor’s decision to select the Golden Deer instead of her, but then banishes the thought from her mind.  _ No more of this whinging, Edelgard.  _

“I see. I have no doubt you will display your usual prowess on the battlefield whether armed with a spell or a sword.” If the teacher wouldn’t convince her, maybe Edelgard’s presence could.

Lysithea flushes cutely once more, and Edelgard spends the next while talking with Lysithea and learning more about magic than she would have from most of the books in the library. It is a blessed distraction from all that is expected of her, by both Those Who Slither and herself. 

* * *

“Ah! Claude!” Ferdinand calls out as Claude walks towards the stables for today’s sky watch. He wasn’t convinced that Hubert would be joining him after yesterday’s disaster, but there he is, standing sullen and dour next to Ferdinand. The two of them must have been talking. 

“‘Evening,” Claude greets them. “Heading for weed duty?” 

“Yes, I was just at the stables taking care of Sully, my mare,” Ferdinand says. “That’s when I ran into Hubert.”

“Von Riegan,” Hubert greets him, his voice dry and monotonous. Claude nods to him. Ferdinand leans over to Claude and whispers in his ear.

“He only grew more sullen and dour as your task approached today. I do not envy you dealing with his mood." 

Claude nods, unsurprised. Hubert scoffs. "Do not act as if I cannot guess what you're discussing, von Aegir. Can you never keep your thoughts to yourself?" Ferdinand ignores the reproach, accustomed to Hubert's ire.

Claude quirks an eyebrow at Hubert. “Ready to head to the aviary?” 

Hubert grimaces but follows after him when he says his goodbyes to Ferdinand. The two walk in silence, neither feeling the pressing urge to converse with the other. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to try to ride on your own?” Claude asks him as they enter the aviary. The strong smell of wyvern permeates his nose. Hubert sneezes and shakes his head, not bothering with a verbal reply. Claude thinks it has to do with his pride. He shrugs. “Alright.”

Claude puts his fingers to his mouth and whistles for Reyna to come down to him. After a few seconds, he sees her drawing close, landing on the ground in front of him. She bows her head and he pats it, scratching under her chin the way she likes. Wyverns are really like big dogs when you get used to them.

“This is Reyna,” Claude introduces them. Reyna sniffs at Hubert, who flinches away. “Reyna, this is Hubert. You may remember each other from yesterday.” Claude guides Reyna to retrieve her tack before he quickly saddles her up with a double saddle, made for two riders at once. She twists at the foreign feeling. He coos to calm her down. “It’s alright girl. This will make it easier for all of us.”

Once she’s adjusted, he guides her and Hubert outside to the landing where they normally take off. He signs both his and Hubert’s names down for sky watch, nodding to the landing guard. 

“Do you want to get on first?” Claude asks. Hubert purses his lips and shakes his head. “Alright.” Claude climbs easily onto Reyna’s back, fitting his boots into the stirrups and clasping the latches around them. He holds her still as Hubert clambers up, much less gracefully. He looks back to see Hubert fiddling with the straps on his stirrups. 

Claude taps on the handle on the front of his seat. “Hold onto this while we fly if you want to. The stirrups should keep you steady, though.” 

“They should have these types of saddles for pegasi,” Hubert comments.

Claude nods. “It’d be a lot safer, but I think that the pegasi can’t hold this much weight. Ready to take off?” 

“Yes,” Hubert says through gritted teeth. Claude doubts it, but grins back at him and nudges Reyna off of the landing. Hubert screeches through his lips as they tip over the edge and begin falling from the wall before Reyna pulls out her wings and evens them out into a glide. Claude glances back at Hubert. His eyes are closed and he’s biting his bottom lip so hard, Claude wouldn’t be surprised if he started bleeding. Claude takes a hand and pats Hubert’s knee trying to comfort him.

“Keep your hands on the reins, von Riegan!” Hubert snarls, eyes snapping open. His face goes almost green and his cheeks bulge. He closes his lips harder. 

“Shit, are you going to throw up?” Claude asks, panicked. He does  _ not _ want Hubert’s vomit all over him. 

Hubert makes an ambiguous noise. Claude turns Reyna around and starts to head back to the walls of the monastery when Hubert taps him in the middle of the back. He looks back to see Hubert swallow, then take a deep breath. 

“Don’t even think of stopping, von Riegan. I’d rather get this done as soon as possible.” 

“Alright,” Claude says. He leisurely guides Reyna around and back onto the usual flight path for sky watch. He takes a second to look back and see how his partner is faring. Hubert’s eyes are closed again and he’s breathing deeply through his nose and out his mouth. Claude smirks. “You know, sky watch is typically an activity where you have to  _ watch _ .”

Hubert squints his eyes open in a glare. “Do not start this fight with me.”

Claude chuckles. “Sorry, that was a little cruel. You’re doing great for your second flight so far.”

“I have no desire to hear you pity me, either.”

“Would it be better if I pretended to be Edelgard?” Claude asks and assumes a straight posture. He raises the pitch of his voice. “Hubert, you are doing an incredible job. You will certainly succeed as a pegasus knight.” 

“If you continue to mock Lady Edelgard, I will not hesitate in… removing you.”

“Oh, feisty,” Claude comments. It seems as if distracting Hubert is working. The mage was incredibly competitive. He glances back and sees that the mage’s posture has loosened, if only slightly. Maybe by the end of the night, he’ll be able to open his eyes without wanting to hurl. 

Sky watch continues in much the same vein, Claude taking the time to annoy Hubert and Hubert responding with some variation of  _ I will kill you where you stand _ until an hour passes. He considers it progress enough when Hubert starts to insult him back rather than just threaten him. The sun begins to set and an orange light is cast over them. 

“Hubert, look,” Claude says as he points at the sunset, the way the light bounces off of the towers of the monastery. The stained glass windows glisten like gems and the white stone of the walls and of the mountains around it are all different shades of red, orange, and pink. 

“I am,” Hubert says softly. 

Claude smiles out at the sight as he glides Reyna into her last circle of the guard route. “This is my favorite part of flying. Not only is it beautiful, but it makes the world seem so small.” 

He takes in a deep breath and lets it out. He thinks of Almyra, the way the sunset reflects off of the sand. The beautiful architecture of his home, of the palace in the capital city or Ur. The monastery looks completely different from any of the temples or ziggurats he grew up near, but they both still hold beauty. The world is small. It’s only prejudices and ignorance that makes it seem so large and foreboding. 

“Being up so high reminds me of how I lack control of my environment,” Hubert says. “Indeed, the world is small. But we, as people, are smaller. Infinitesimally. Creatures fumbling on an indifferent planet."

“Even the smallest animal can have a huge impact on the world,” Claude says. “Though in the case of bugs, that usually is by spreading plagues or other diseases. Hopefully, as people, the change we make is something that will benefit the world at large instead of bringing needless destruction.”

“You seek to change the world?” Hubert asks, after a pause.

Claude laughs. “Oh, nothing so grand. I’d just like to see an era of peace, where borders and hierarchies hold no bearing on the ways in which people can succeed and find happiness.”

“That would be a good world to live in,” Hubert says. “Lady Edelgard has expressed similar desires.”

“Well, then I hope that once we become the leaders of our respective territories, Edelgard and I can work together to establish such a peace.”

Hubert hums vaguely but doesn’t respond. It’s no matter though, Claude is happy to have had anything approaching positive discussion with the man. He also takes a moment to muse over the fact that neither of them sounded much like people who believe in the Goddess.

They finish their final rotation and Claude lands them back at the aviary’s platform. He dismounts and helps Hubert off. Hubert’s legs seem sore but he doesn’t fall like he did the previous day. 

Claude grins at him. “Got your sky legs, huh? Maybe you’ll try out a pegasus next time.”

“We’ll see,” is all Hubert will say.

* * *

Byleth leaves a note on Claude’s door to visit their room and discuss the monthly mission, so he heads downstairs after bathing and walks all the way there, wishing that he could be in bed instead. He wasn’t like Byleth with their endless stamina for sprinting around the monastery. It wasn’t a particularly busy day, but there was a lot of reading he wanted to catch up on regarding the history of Fódlan and their foreign relations. Talking with Dedue and Dimitri today had inspired him to try and research history on Duscur, as well as other ethnic groups that used to make up the continent (assuming the church hadn’t erased records of those peoples existing to promote a religious narrative). 

He knocks on Byleth’s door.

“Come in,” they call out. He opens it and closes it behind him. They’re seated at their desk, a few files and texts open on it. He notices that one of them is a text on heavy armor and can barely contain a laugh. They’re really putting in effort to entice Ferdinand into joining their house.

“What’s up, Teach?” Claude asks. “Tell me all about the new mision.”

Byleth looks at him for a few seconds before they pick up one of the files on their desk. They hand it to him --it’s the public student file for Ashe, an apparent member of the Blue Lions and an archer. He looks at the first page, with Ashe’s intended study and certification path written out in Manuela’s handwriting. 

“Our mission is to kill his father,” Byleth says. Claude stares at his teacher, almost uncomprehending. Stopping bandits from pillaging innocents is one thing, but to kill another student’s father is… 

“Apparently, Lord Lonato is leading a rebellion against the Church,” Byleth explains. “I can’t lie and say I understand the church’s politics. The Western Church wants to usurp the Central Church’s authority.”

Claude’s mind races as he remembers readings he did on the church’s divide, the power the Central Church has over the continent. “That’s…”  _ self-serving? Morally reprehensible?  _ It’s hard for him to accept this as a legitimate ruling when he has no belief in Fódlan’s goddess, nor does he respect the Church’s authority. The fact that the Church is able to put out a hit on someone without contacting the government of the region they are from is kind of sketchy. 

“I want to recruit Ashe and bring him along,” Byleth tells him. Claude starts.

“That’s kind of cruel of you, Teach,” he says. He didn't expect it from them, and is surprised when he realizes it. When did he start thinking Byleth would be compassionate to everyone?

“It’s strategy,” Byleth responds. “It might make Lonato hesitate if he sees his son on the battlefield. Make it so we can capture him instead."

"And you would recruit him just for this? Why not ask him to come on the mission as mission assistance?"

Byleth frowns, mouth twisting slightly. "It feels…. Wrong. To ask him to do that and then not take responsibility afterwards."

They’re quiet for a few seconds. Claude guesses that he can talk to Ashe during archery practice, get to know him more before Byleth tries to recruit him. But something about the whole situation still sits wrongly within his mind. 

“What do you think of this?” Claude asks. “About the Church being able to do something like this?”

"Shouldn't you be explaining it to me?" Byleth asks.

Claude almost snorts. "Aren't you the one who spent your whole life in Fodlan?"

"Aren't you supposed to be leading a third of the continent one day?" Byleth counters.

Claude acknowledges the point but smirks. "Any good devotee of the church would have defended it by now." 

"Officially, I am a member of the church," Byleth said dryly. 

Claude grins. "Teach, you have to be careful about revealing how much about the church you don't know."

Byleth tilts their head to the side and shrugs one shoulder. As calm as ever. Though with their strength, it’s easy to understand why they’re generally unflappable. Claude wants to be as strong as them one day, to finally be accepted as a warrior by his father. It’s why he came to Fódlan, after all. To learn and become strong, to bring knowledge back to Almyra and ascend to the throne as their king. 

“I’m going to recruit Ferdinand as we discussed,” Byleth says. They tap the heavy armor text on their desk. Claude nods.

“Thanks, Teach. I do appreciate it,” Claude gives them a smile to which Byleth responds with a dip of their head. “So, this month the Golden Deer will be getting two new students. How exciting!”

Byleth nods again. “How is Hubert doing?” 

Claude sighs. “He’s not too fond of flying.” Byleth doesn’t seem surprised by that. “And he had a bad experience with a pegasus so he’s been riding my wyvern with me.”

Byleth frowns. “Get him back on a pegasus. He needs to learn how to ride one.” They tap their pen against their lip. “I’ll tell Hanneman to teach him lance as well. Tell him I see some budding talent for it.”

“Are you… trying to get him to be a pegasus knight?” Claude asks. He knows that the church only allows women to fly on pegasi, for whatever reason. Claude will be the first to say that he loves saying  _ fuck you _ to conventions, but is Byleth really going to go so obviously against the church’s wishes? 

Byleth shakes their head. “In a way… I…” they pause, as if weighing their options. A sharp strike of intrigue hits Claude as he realizes he might learn one of Teach’s many secrets. “I used to compete in fighting tournaments. In one of them I met a person from a far off continent. They gave me this seal when I won since they were out of gold.” 

Byleth pulls an odd seal from a drawer and hands it to Claude. He reads the scroll that comes with it and realizes it’s instructions for fighting in a foreign style. It is written in a foreign language, translated by someone with neat, square handwriting (very different from the nearly illegible scrawl of Byleth’s).  _ Dark Falcon… a unisex flying magic class… dark magic… large range of movement _ . 

“Hubert is slow. Being on pegasus-back would be good for him,” Byleth says. “It’s foreign, so Rhea can’t tell me it’s against the church. Just unknown.”

“Are you going to give this to Hanneman, then?” 

“No. I think he would insist on putting Bernadetta on the pegasus instead,” Byleth says. “I will train Hubert and then reclass him. Secretly.”

“So this training is without Hubert knowing what’s going on either,” Claude says, crossing his arms. It’s generally taboo to help another student do something against their teacher’s wishes, and it’s outright against the rules to give a student from a different class their certification exam without prior authorization. While Hubert doesn’t seem like the type to care about whether something is legal in the eyes of Rhea, he also seems like the type who would snitch on Teach just to be petty. “Which means you’ll have  _ us _ work with him during group tasks until he has the skills necessary to learn this new fighting style.”

Byleth nods. “Hanneman tends to neglect the students that don’t have crests or who he doesn’t see as being committed students. Hubert resents him and mistrusts his teachings. Eventually, I’d want to work with him one on one. I’m not going to give him the seal if he isn’t one of my students when the time comes.” 

“I can’t pretend to understand your logic, Teach… Why not use this seal on one of the Golden Deer? Marianne is competent with pegasi, and Lysithea is not opposed to them. Lorenz would also be well suited to it, I have to say. Meanwhile, Hubert hates heights and is hostile in a good mood. He also puts Edelgard above all else, and… We may not always want the same things.”

Byleth tilted their head. “Help me get Hubert competent and I’ll keep recruiting the students you want in your class.”

_ Is it even possible?  _ Claude wonders. It seems as if Hubert has nothing but contempt for the professor, despite the fact that they saved Edelgard’s life. Perhaps he’s angry that the professor chose to lead the Golden Deer class instead of the Black Eagles. Anyhow, there’s no way that Hubert would leave Edelgard’s side and join the Golden Deer, and being forced to do something he hates is unlikely to change that.

Claude still doesn’t understand Byleth’s motivations. He would’ve thought that Marianne was a perfect choice for this new style, but they haven’t led him wrong yet. They must have another reason for wanting to put Hubert through this kind of foreign training then they’ve disclosed.

The two stay in Byleth’s room for another hour, discussing house matters as well as Claude’s sword training until the curfew bell rings. Claude stands and leaves Byleth’s room, wondering about the future. Recruitment and a morally reprehensible mission. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the future, we’re going to be playing with different perspectives from the house leaders and their right hands. Also, as this is a fifth route, it will be canon compliant for most of White Clouds and Cindered Shadows (excluding elements of gameplay we’re breaking down, such as group tasks, some missions, etc.). This story starts in Ch. 3 of White Clouds “Mutiny in the Mist” otherwise known as the chapter where the church has you nerf Lonato. That being said, it’s kind of boring to recap dialogue, so the canon events of those chapters will be alluded to, but not shown (since we know you’ve already seen it). 
> 
> Also, we haven’t come up with a name for Part II. Maybe Emerald Oak or something like that. Amaranth Star. Citrine Sky. 
> 
> Muesli is a kind of breakfast made of yogurt and oats, sometimes nuts and berries. The dish Claude likes from Almyra is based off of shakshuka. 
> 
> Ur is an ancient city and it’s patron god was Sumerian Sin (sometimes called Nanna). Sin was the god of the moon! I chose this as the capital city of Almyra due Claude’s crest looking like a crescent moon. 
> 
> To be realistic, Byleth has C+ in lance, axe, bow, and brawling, A+ in sword, D in faith and reason, B+ in authority, and D in riding and flying, and then an E+ in heavy armor (they’re working to remedy that though!). They do have to teach everyone, after all! Byleth also came into Garreg Mach as a mercenary class (already maxed out). Just kind of makes sense seeing as how they grew up as a mercenary. 
> 
> (Robin got the Dark Falcon seal from Corrin at a “trans-continental fighting tournament” (SSBU) and then Byleth won it from Robin in a bet. Robin was nice enough to translate it from Nohrian to Ylissean to Fódlandy for them because of course Robin would speak, like, 11 languages. Corrin is kind of a thembo, and they were so sheltered I doubt they’d know multiple languages)
> 
> Next chapter is Sylvain’s birthday, a meeting with Seteth, and some more Sky Watch + whatever else strikes us as we write. 
> 
> Please let us know what you think!
> 
> (if you want, follow me on tumblr @brokuroo)
> 
> Our fe discord is (https://discord.gg/zVENPpQ)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it!! Please let me know what you think!
> 
> This is my first 3h fic, so I'd appreciate comments on characterization and pacing.


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